Pokémon: I Choose You! - Cascade Badge Challenge
by Fox McCloude
Summary: Ash Ketchum arrives in Cerulean City, hoping to win his first Gym Badge. Will he be able to make it, and give his first step to become a Pokémon Master? Set within the 20th Anniversary movie. Possible hints of PokéShipping.


**Pokémon: I Choose You! – Cascade Badge Challenge**

 **By Fox McCloude**

 **Disclaimer:** Pokémon and all related characters belong to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo and GAMEFREAK. All rights reserved.

* * *

 _ **Kanto region…**_

A location surrounded by a mysterious blue aura, or for others, the city of many floral lagoons. That was the description many of the Kanto denizens would give to Cerulean City.

But that wasn't important. For Ash Ketchum there was only one reason to be here.

"Alright, Pikachu, here we are! Cerulean City, the place where we'll earn our first Gym Badge, for sure!" the trainer said as he adjusted his hat and pumped his fists with enthusiasm.

"Pikachu!" the rodent exclaimed, mimicking his trainer's gestures.

Their first stop for the Pokémon League had actually been in Pewter City. However, due to his lack of knowledge when he challenged the leader, he had to find out the hard way that he was a Rock-type specialist, and with a few well-aimed Rock Throws his Geodude blasted Pidgeotto out of the sky. He then tried with Pikachu, only to learn they were also part Ground-types, and thus immune to electricity. It was a very humiliating defeat.

Despite everything, the leader took pity on him, and even though he did say his current team had little to no chances, he recommended him to go somewhere else for his first badge. Apparently, Cerulean City had a Gym too, one where he could have the advantage, and he recommended to challenge it first, and then come back once he had earned more experience.

Grateful for the advice, Ash took the road to Cerulean, and after a week or so to walk around across Mt. Moon's caves, they had arrived.

Taking a stroll around town, and asking the locals for directions, the black-haired boy made his way to the center of the city, eager to challenge the leader as soon as possible. However, when he arrived to his destination, he was in for a not-so-nice surprise.

"What's going on there?" he asked, mildly puzzled.

The building, looking a tad like a circus' big top, and showing a large Dewgong on the entrance board with the words "Cerulean Gym", had quite a long line of people outside. No, it couldn't be that everybody there was there to challenge the leader, could it?

Looking closer, the boy noticed near the entrance there was a little stand, where a girl was selling tickets. He really hoped he didn't have to pay for one just to challenge the Gym, but having no other options, he approached to make sure.

"Like, thank you, enjoy the show," the girl selling the tickets said, a young woman with long, dark blue hair and valley girl voice.

-"Excuse me?" Ash tried to approach her.

"Hey kid! You wanna see the show? Get in the line like everyone else!" one of the guys in the line protested.

"Yeah, no cheating, you cutter!" another added, very angry.

"Sorry, just wanted to ask something," Ash apologized, approaching the blue-haired girl. "Is this a Pokémon Gym?"

"Like, of course it is, sweetie," the girl said with the same tone. "Why, you coming to, like, challenge for a badge?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm here. Do I have to pay for a ticket or what?"

"Oh, you didn't, like, get the memo? Today the Gym's closed, no challengers," the girl said, pointing to a notice next to the entrance wall. It not only said that, but also showed something about an aquatic ballet show.

"Oh, so…"

"Well, if everything's, like, in order, you can be on your nice way, don't stop the line," the girl said gesturing for him to leave. "Or if you want to stay for the show, get in the line like everyone else."

Having little interest in the aforementioned aquatic ballet, Ash decided to leave. If he couldn't come to challenge for a badge, he had no choice but to come back another day. What a waste, and to think he was so pumped up for it.

* * *

 _ **A tad later…**_

After stopping by the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy suggested that, since the Gym was closed for him that day, he could stop by the local Battle Club to kill time. That way, he could keep himself busy and at the same time have some training, which would definitely come in handy to earn experience, as he had been advised to do.

"Welcome to the Cerulean Battle Club," a large, middle-aged man greeted him. He hard short hair and a large moustache, and was dressed in a dark martial arts gi held by a red belt. "I'm Don George, battle director and manager of this place."

"I'm Ash, from Pallet Town, and this is my partner, Pikachu," Ash replied, shaking hands with him.

"Is this your first time in a Battle Club?" Don George asked, and Ash nodded. "Alright, come with me, let me show you how we do things here."

Ash followed Don George across the entrance hall, stopping next to a computer screen. The man typed a password and after pressing Enter, he opened a menu with several icons. On the screen, he tapped one that showed trainer silhouettes, and it displayed an information profile, but empty of data and waiting to be filled.

"I need an identification to register your trainer profile," Don George explained.

Ash pulled out his Pokédex. "Does this work?"

Don George took the device and then inserted it into a slot reader to scan it. Instantly, Ash's face appeared on the mugshot space and the blank lines filled up with info. It also showed photos of the Pokémon he had to his name, starting by Pikachu and then in capture order.

"Very good, Mr. Ash Ketchum, your registry is complete," Don George said, returning the Pokédex to him. "Next step, we need to decide the kind of training you want to undergo. Do you have any preferences?"

"Not really," Ash said. "Anything would be good, since I came to challenge the gym. But since it was closed for challengers, I was told I could kill time here in the meantime."

"Excuse me, you said you come to challenge the Gym?" a female voice suddenly asked.

Ash and Don George turned around, finding a girl in front of them. She looked more or less the same age as Ash, if surpassing him in height for a couple of inches. She had red-orange hair tied in a side-ponytail, and green-blue eyes. The fact she was wearing only a blue bikini top and matching short-shorts evidenced a rather slim and nice figure, and her skin was slightly tanned, like that of someone who often went swimming under the sun. Ash for a moment glanced at her Pokéball belt, and involuntarily to her wide hips and long legs, but quickly turned back to her eyes so she wouldn't think badly of him.

"Er, yeah. Why, is there something wrong?"

The girl didn't reply immediately, instead looking at him from head to toe, in a rather strange way. It was like she was sizing him up or something, and then her eyes briefly stopped on Pikachu, before glancing at him again and placing her hands on her hips.

"How many badges do your have?"

"This'll be my first," Ash said. She didn't need to know he had tried to get one at Pewter, but failed.

"Oh, so we have a rookie here." She smirked. "Tell me, have you ever fought on a water battlefield?"

"Er, no. But what does that have to do with-?"

"Don't you know?" The girl tilted her head and arched an eyebrow. "The Cerulean Gym specializes in Water-type Pokémon. Did you at least take the liberty to research that?"

"I…" Ash opened his mouth to reply, but felt his cheeks flushing as he realized he didn't even bother to ask for the Gym's specialty.

The girl sighed and shook her head. "Wow, you really _are_ a rookie, boy. You'll never get very far that way, you know."

"Hey! Who do you think you are to say that?"

"Oh, forgive my manners, I haven't introduced myself," the girl apologized. "The name's Misty, and I take back what I said, because a rookie would at least try and get informed about the Gym he's planning to challenge."

"Don't take it the wrong way, Ash, Misty is right," Don George intervened. "She's one of the best trainers in town. More than that, if you plan to challenge the gym, training with her might be just what you need."

Ash glanced at the man, and then at the girl, who kept a rather confident smile. At first glance he found it hard to believe, but if the Battle Club's owner said so, it was probably true. In any case, he wouldn't refuse a good battle, if she was offering him one.

"Well, if she's as good as you say, guess I'll take your word for it," Ash finally said.

"Hah, that's the spirit. Mr. Don George, think you can lend us a water battle arena?" the girl requested.

"Gladly, number three must be free right now. You can use it as you see fit."

"Good. Oh, and if you allow me," the redhead snatched his hat, "I'm gonna need to borrow this."

"Hey! What are you doing?! Give me back my hat!"

The boy outstretched his hands trying to recover his precious hat, but the girl kept it away from his reach, as they walked towards battle arena number three as pointed. The girl deliberately dodged his attempts until he tried to lunge at her, and she stepped away to get him to trip over and fall nose first into the water. Or so he would have, if she hadn't grabbed his backpack to pull him back up.

"Easy, I'll give it back, but I'll need it for a test," the girl said as she put the hat on her own head. "What I want to do is see how capable you are of battling on a water battlefield. If you're going to challenge the Cerulean Gym, you need to know the battlefield first, right?"

Ash wanted to retort, but he finally conceded her point. While he didn't like the girl's superiority attitude, if Don George said she could help him there was no reason to refuse. Sighing, the boy nodded.

"Good. Here we go." Misty grabbed one of her Pokéballs and popped it open. A blue, plesiosaur-like Pokémon, with a gray armored shell on the back, appeared in the water. Ash immediately grabbed his Pokédex and pointed it to scan.

" **Lapras, the Transport Pokémon. Lapras is characterized by its mild and affable temper, and it is known they're willing to help people lost at sea."**

"Interesting." Ash pocketed the device, and saw how Misty hopped on Lapras' back to talk to him.

"As you can see, the battlefield is mostly of water, with some platforms to stand on. Your Pikachu might be the best choice in a Water-type Gym, so I'll see how good it is to move around this field." The girl pointed at Ash's hat on her head. "Your goal is to try and get this back. We won't attack you, we'll just dodge."

"Is that it? Ha, that'll be a piece of cake!" Ash said confidently. "Let's go, Pikachu!"

"Pikapika!" Pikachu leapt to the nearest platform, ready to begin the exercise.

"Well, I see you guys are pumped up." The redhead pulled out what looked like a fancy stopwatch. "How about we make it more interesting? Think you can do this in five minutes or less?"

"We won't even need one," Ash assured. "Charge!"

Ash simply pointed forward, and Pikachu leapt towards Lapras. But much to his surprise, when he lunged at Misty to try and retrieve his trainer's hat, the Water Pokémon only had to lean sideways to dodge. And Pikachu, for his part, not only missed his target, but also missed his landing point and ended up falling into the water with a loud splash.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

The electric rodent took a while to get back to the surface, and a little more to swim to a platform to get out of the water. He shook his fur like a dog, but outside that little dip, nothing was wrong.

"Nice try, but you'll have to do better than that," Misty declared, causing Ash to get slightly irritated. They couldn't underestimate her.

"Pikachu, be careful when you jump, be sure where you're gonna land," the trainer warned his partner.

Pikachu nodded, and focused back on Misty and Lapras. This time, he waited for a bit, but they didn't make any move, instead just staring back at them with a big smile. The mouse tried to gauge the distance between the platforms before jumping again, but just like the first, he missed his attempt to get back the hat. Though at least this time he landed on a platform, and quickly charged again from her back, but Misty ducked and made him miss and fall into the water, again.

"What's the matter?" Misty asked with a teasing voice. "It's been over a minute and you still haven't managed to take it back."

"We'll show you! Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash called.

This time, Pikachu gave a white glow and charged in a burst of speed towards Lapras, who instinctively arched his body upwards to act as a shield for his trainer. The blow shook him a bit, but otherwise caused no damage.

"Oof… so that's how you want to play. Well, let's make it a little harder." The girl grabbed the hat with her free hand, waving it around to the side. "Come on, get it!"

Pikachu kept leaping from platform to platform trying to catch the hat, but despite getting pretty close he didn't manage to grab it. Time and time again, Misty and Lapras only made slight movements to the side, or on the more extreme cases, they'd submerge so he'd fly over them. More than once Pikachu missed his landing points and ended up taking a dip.

Ash was getting more and more irritated every time. If it wasn't because he didn't want to electrocute the girl, and as much as he hated that mocking smile, he couldn't call Pikachu to use an electric attack against Lapras. Also, his hand was twitching next to his own Pokéball belt, trying to resist the temptation of grabbing Pidgeotto's ball and send him so he could snatch it by flying. That'd be too easy and break the point of this exercise.

"Enough," Misty said after dodging Pikachu's last lunge and getting him into the water one more time. She then pressed the stopwatch's stop button. "Five minutes and you didn't make it. How disappointing."

The girl had her Lapras swim next to the edge to hop off, while Pikachu swam towards Ash, who helped him out of the water. After the yellow mouse shook the water again, splashing his trainer's pants a bit, Misty approached them, playfully spinning Ash's hat around her finger.

"Well, you obviously need to practice how to battle on this field. If you go to the Cerulean Gym this way, you won't stand a chance," she declared as matter-of-factly.

"You seem to know a lot about that Gym," Ash commented as he gave her a suspicious look.

The girl simply shrugged. "Everybody here knows that Gym. Anyway, I think you do have some interesting potential, rookie. With some practice, you could do nicely there."

"Stop calling me a rookie. I have a name, you know?"

"Sorry… Ash." The girl snickered, and stopped spinning the hat to place it back on his head, even though she lowered the visor until it covered his eyes. "Sorry I took it. Looks nice on you, by the way."

Ash adjusted his hat, his mouth burrowing a little bit. The girl's attitude was a bit irritating, but at first glance, she didn't seem that bad. And as she could see, she truly knew what she was saying, as much as he hated to admit it.

"Even with a type advantage, if your Pikachu doesn't know how to move on a water battlefield he'll have it hard," Misty explained. "I'd also recommend you to find at least another Pokémon strong against Water-types. It's not wise to have only one trump card, you know?"

"Do you know where I could get one?" Ash ventured to ask.

"Sorry, can't help you with that," Misty replied. "That's up to you now."

Suddenly, something else beeped on Misty's belt. Seeing it up close, Ash realized the thing wasn't a fancy stopwatch, but actually a PokéGear: a communication device that could work as mobile phone, radio, and many other things. The girl pressed the incoming call button to answer and took it to her ear.

"Hello? No, I was just helping a rookie trainer a little, but… no, it's not what you're thinking. Yeah, alright, I'm coming. See ya." That said, she pressed the button again to end the call. "Sorry, my sisters want me to go back home. Keep practicing, okay?"

And without further words, the girl recalled her Lapras and took her leave, leaving Ash and Pikachu by themselves. The trainer sighed with resignation. While he didn't like how the girl rubbed in his face his rookie status, he had to admit he really needed to improve.

"Well, Pikachu, I guess it's time for us to train how to fight on water. You ready?"

"Pikachu!" the yellow mouse nodded.

They had a long way to go, so the sooner they started, the better. If they were to challenge the gym, they had to be prepared.

…

Ash stayed the rest of the day at the Battle Club, until it closed for the day. He had a couple of practice battles with other rookies, plus he learned he could train other moves for his Pokémon, for a small fee. Don George left him a little pamphlet with the ones he had to choose, and he had been reading it with interest.

Now he was resting on his bed at the Pokémon Center's room, thinking about what he'd do the following day. He had decided on a couple of moves he'd like for Pikachu to learn, which could be useful for better performance. As for the possibility of using his other Pokémon, Ash wasn't considering that choice that much. He decided to follow Misty's advice and try and get another for more type advantage.

"Water-types, huh?" the trainer muttered, checking an elemental type chart. "Let's see… they're supposed to resist Ice, Fire, Steel and their own Water-type attacks, and they're vulnerable to Electric and Grass-types."

A Grass-type… maybe that was just what he needed. The question was, where to get one? Well, it was nighttime and he needed some rest. The trainer went and grabbed his backpack to stash the chart and turn in for the day.

However, accidentally upon opening it, he dropped the strange feather he picked up on his first day as a trainer. Once he stashed the type chart, Ash immediately picked it back. Sometimes it seemed to glow on its own, and other times it just dimmed down. Today, the light was tenuous it was easily overshadowed by the lamp on the nightstand.

What Pokémon had been that one? So big, so majestic, emitting the seven colors of the rainbow as it soared through the sky. It was an incredible vision, one he'd never forget in his life. And the feather was the proof it hadn't been a dream or his imagination. Would he ever see it again?

"Stop thinking about that, Ash," he told himself, stashing the feather back. He had other things to think about, and a lot of work to do the next day. With that in mind, he turned off the light and dropped himself on the bed to get some sleep.

* * *

 _ **The following day…**_

After that interesting challenge at the Battle Club, and if what the redhead had told him about the Cerulean Gym was true, he needed to prepare Pikachu better for the battlefield they would battle on. Even more so after that less than admirable display they had at the club.

"We need to train you better to fight on water. You ready, buddy?"

"Pikachu!" the electric rodent nodded.

Walking downstairs to the Pokémon Center's main hall, Ash had thought about what he'd do to challenge the Cerulean Gym. He could go back to the Battle Club and get some training on a similar field, or a lake, river, or another nearby water source where he could do the same. The problem with the latter option was that he didn't have Water-types of his own for practice, and he didn't know if wild ones would be enough.

The other issue was the possibility of expanding his arsenal. After what happened in Pewter, it'd be better to go with another Pokémon that gave him an advantage and not just Pikachu. The question was, where would he find one?

"Are you sure about this?" he heard Nurse Joy's voice saying.

"Absolutely!" another replied, this time male.

Ash turned around and saw a trainer around his same age, placing a Pokémon over the counter. Ash knew it pretty well: a Bulbasaur, one of the three starters offered by Professor Oak to new trainers in Pallet Town. It was a small green-skinned quadruped with some darker green patches over its body, and a large bulb growing on its back. Its red eyes gave off a somewhat surly glare, or that was the Pallet trainer's first impression.

"He's giving me more trouble than he's worth, and it's clear he doesn't like me," Bulbasaur's trainer said, causing the Pokémon to let out a visibly tense groan, but quickly relaxed when the nurse rubbed his bulb.

"What a shame." Nurse Joy quickly held him. "I think he had finally found a good trainer. Well, thanks for trying, and sorry for the bother."

The trainer gave a curt bow before turning around and leaving, visibly annoyed for having to leave that Pokémon behind. Ash came closer to get a better look, but Bulbasaur growled as soon as he noticed his presence.

"Saur…"

"Woah, easy." The trainer raised his hands. If looks could kill, he'd probably be dead ten times over with that one.

"Sorry you had to see that. This is the fifth trainer who returns Bulbasaur," the nurse expressed with some heaviness in her voice.

"Fifth?" Ash turned back, and out of habit he pulled out his Pokédex to scan Bulbasaur.

" **Bulbasaur, the seed Pokémon. A bulb grows on its back since birth. Scientists are still unsure whether Bulbasaur should be classified as a plant or animal."**

"Saur." Bulbasaur moved his head as if dismissing Ash, who put the Pokédex away.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Nurse Joy admitted. "I've been looking after this Bulbasaur since I found him hurt on the road, and I've tried to find him a good trainer, but it seems he doesn't like any of them. At most they've lasted a week."

Ash gave Bulbasaur a closer look. At first glance he looked like a rather strong and healthy Pokémon, his scowling face and angry groaning notwithstanding. The day he arrived with Professor Oak he was disappointed for not getting one of the traditional starters, and while he was happy with Pikachu now, it didn't change that sometimes he'd wonder what could have been to have one of them.

For her part, Nurse Joy seemed to catch his interest. "Would you like to try it? I'd love to keep watching him over, but I'm too busy with work to give him the attention he needs."

"Really?" Ash beamed at the proposal. Bulbasaur however rolled his eyes.

"I'll warn you: Bulbasaur hasn't opened up to anyone but me," the nurse said in a serious tone. "If you feel it's too much of a hassle, I'll understand if you return him."

"Ha! That's good for me, but I assure you, that won't happen," Ash assured. "You'll see, Bulbasaur, we'll get along just fine!"

While the nurse prepared some paperwork and gave Ash Bulbasaur's Pokéball, the Grass-type had other thoughts. All of his trainers had begun the same way, all happy to receive him, but as soon as he showed his true colors, they'd give up and return him. This one would follow suit for sure, plus he didn't look that smart.

They'd get along, sure. The one who lasted the longest gave up after a week. How long before this one reached his limit too?

* * *

 _ **A few days later…**_

When Ash said he wanted to get along with Bulbasaur, he had been fully sincere. Problem was, what did you do when the other person, or Pokémon in this case, made everything in their power to make things hard for you?

Nurse Joy warned him Bulbasaur would be a troublesome Pokémon, and it turned out to be an understatement. First, he'd refuse to eat the food he was offered, preferring to go find his own. That on itself wasn't a problem, as there were fruit and berry trees everywhere for him to pick, plus it saved him some money in additional Pokémon food, but it made it impossible to socialize with Pikachu and the others.

Then, before they started some sparring matches, Ash asked Bulbasaur to show his moves. He proved himself able to use Tackle, Razor Leaf and Vine Whip, but was there any need to use _him_ as target practice for those attacks?

The battles themselves didn't go any better: Bulbasaur refused to obey him and just did as he pleased. While he admitted it was impressive that he defeated Pidgeotto, an opponent against which he had a type disadvantage, he went overboard tying him up with his vines and slamming him the way he did, and throwing cutting leaves at Pikachu even after he told him to stop.

He couldn't scold Pikachu for zapping him with more electricity than normal, seeing he was just acting in self-defense.

While he tried to apply potions to heal him after that electric shock, Bulbasaur remained all the while with a frown in his face, not even looking at his new trainer in the eye. Well, at least he was letting himself be healed, and that was a start, wasn't it?

"Bulbasaur… I get the feeling you don't like me," the trainer said, holding the spray over a slight lump before covering it with a band-aid.

Bulbasaur didn't reply, he just gave him a look as if saying "Oh, so you noticed?" It reminded him of his first day with Pikachu, but if he could win the mouse out in the end, surely he could do the same with the Grass-type.

He just hoped it didn't come down to be attacked by another flock of murderous Spearow.

"*Sigh*, tell me something, do you have any issues with trainers? Or it's just me in particular?" he dared to ask.

Bulbasaur looked away, and then extended a vine in front of Ash. Then, for no reason, pointed upwards with it, causing Ash to look up. And then…

 _ ***WHAP!***_

"Ouch!" the trainer yelped, realizing Bulbasaur gave him a satisfied look. "Hey, yes or no would have been enough!"

"Bulba." The Grass-type starter shrugged.

"Sheesh, what a grump. Well, I don't know what your problem is, but I'm not giving up that easily."

Bulbasaur glared at him as if saying "I dare you to try", and walked towards a tree near the edge of the clearing they were at. Spotting an apple hanging from a low branch, he threw a couple of Razor Leaves to cut it, and caught it with his vines to retrieve it.

Ash sighed, but seeing they weren't making any progress, he felt he might as well take a snack too. Checking his backpacks, he pulled out a few energy bars for himself and some bags of Pokémon food for Pikachu. It was just them since the others were in their Pokéballs resting and had done their fair share for the day. He wouldn't overwork them after all.

He saw Bulbasaur lowering the apple and throwing them to splice it in tiny bits to eat without a rush. With that kind of accuracy for the cuts, he could be a good Pokémon to use at the Cerulean Gym, but it wouldn't do him any good if he didn't obey.

' _It doesn't matter, Bulbasaur. I don't care what's wrong with you, but I'm not giving up,'_ Ash thought. He'd win him over, not only to have a good asset for the Gym battle, but because he genuinely wanted them to be friends.

Besides, Pikachu was the same when they first met, and he ended up winning him over too. While he certainly preferred not to have to get himself into another life-or-death situation so he could see he was trustworthy, he'd do so in a heartbeat if he had to.

…

That night at the Pokémon Center, Ash and Pikachu slept peacefully at the bedroom they were occupying. After training nonstop, they wanted nothing but to sleep like a pair of babies.

However, a slight noise caused Pikachu to perk up his ears, and peering open an eye, he saw one of the Pokéballs on the nightstand shaking around by itself. Seconds later, it popped open, and the luminous form materialized into Bulbasaur, who glanced around and walked towards the window.

"Hmm… no, I still wanna ear more…" Ash muttered in his sleep, rolling over the bed, but without waking up. Pikachu rolled his eyes: when he was asleep virtually nothing could wake him up.

In the meantime, Bulbasaur extended one of his vines towards the window's handle, with the clear intent to open it. Pikachu frowned and quickly jumped off the bed to stop him, if he was about to do what he thought.

" _[Going somewhere?]"_ he asked. Bulbasaur shuddered slightly and turned around to face him. But seeing it was just him, he turned back to what he was doing before. _"[I didn't know you could do that. Getting out of your Ball, I mean.]"_

" _[A little trick I picked up],"_ the Grass-type starter said. " _[Something else you want to tell me?]_

" _[Just one question. Are you planning to escape while Ash is asleep?]"_

" _[I'm not escaping],"_ Bulbasaur replied rather emphatic. " _[Just going to stretch for a bit. Besides I don't need to escape. It's just a matter of time.]"_

" _[Time for what?]"_ Pikachu asked again.

" _[For your human to get fed up with me and return me. Like everyone else.]"_

Pikachu raised an eyebrow. At long last he said something about his previous trainers. Probably he had learned to get out of his Ball with all of them.

" _[Is that your problem with Ash? You think he's gonna get rid of you?]"_ Pikachu asked.

" _[Everybody does. He managed to last a couple days, big deal. I don't know if he's too stubborn or stupid, but sooner or later he'll reach his limit. Besides, he's not the sharpest or smartest human I've seen. Just look at him, sleeping like a log.]"_

Pikachu glanced at Ash. On that front, he had to admit Bulbasaur had a point. Ash wasn't very aware of his surroundings, let alone when he slept. But in regards to the other… Bulbasaur was very wrong, and Pikachu felt the urge to let him know.

" _[I used to believe that. I won't deny it; Ash can be a bit of an idiot and still has a lot to learn to be a great trainer. But you're wrong if you think he's going to up and leave you.]"_

" _[You don't say.]"_ Bulbasaur replied, clearly not buying it. " _[Every human has their limit, and he won't be the exception.]"_

" _[Then you'll find it hard],"_ Pikachu said. " _[You don't know this, but I treated him the same way on our first day together. I thought the same as you: that he was a foolish boy who had no idea of anything, not even what he was getting himself into, and I let him know.]"_

Bulbasaur arched an eyebrow with interest. Now that he had his attention Pikachu felt like it was time to drop the bomb and see what he thought.

" _[But here where you see me… when a flock of Spearow attacked and almost killed us, despite the way I treated him, he did everything he could to protect me. He put his life on the line for me, for a Pokémon he owned for less than a day, and he didn't care what happened between us]."_

" _[You're kidding]",_ Bulbasaur said.

" _[No, I'm not],"_ Pikachu replied. " _[If he was willing to give his life to save me, you think he'd really leave you just because you're doing the same? If he didn't abandon me when his life was in the line, he'd hardly do it to you if he's not in danger.]"_

Pikachu noticed Bulbasaur stared at him intently, as if trying to see in his eyes if he was telling the truth. If he had a hard time with his previous trainers, it was understandable for him to be so skeptical about Ash. But Pikachu guessed Bulbasaur had no right to judge him if he didn't know what Ash was capable off when it counted. If a flock of murderous birds didn't stop him, a Pokémon just as or perhaps less troublesome than he was wouldn't do it either.

" _[Ash might have his shortcomings, but his heart's where it has to be. If I were you, I'd at least give him a chance]",_ the yellow mouse insisted.

Bulbasaur didn't say anything, but the gesture he made afterwards made it clear he wasn't in the mood to get out for a night stroll anymore. He returned to the nightstand and tapped his Ball with one of his whips to return. Ash just groaned something in his sleep, but still didn't wake up, while Pikachu jumped back to the bed to curl himself up and get back to sleep.

Maybe the next morning they could do better in their training.

* * *

 _ **The following morning…**_

Trying a different way to earn Bulbasaur's trust, Ash decided to return to the Battle Club and do some new training. Aside from specific exercises to improve strength, endurance or speed, they also included more specialized ones, and to learn specific moves.

Checking on his Pokédex, Ash found an interesting move: Leech Seed. It supposedly fired a seed at the target to wrap it in vines, and then it would slowly suck the energy out of it to transfer to the user. It sounded like it could be useful in battle, so Ash decided to put Bulbasaur to practice this particular attack.

Surprisingly, the Grass Pokémon also became interested in the move. Producing the seed wasn't too hard, as he could easily generate it out of his bulb. The real issue was to aim well to hit the target, since whenever he fired it, it went off course to the sides.

And that time wasn't the exception, in the middle of a battle against another trainer and his Rattata.

"Bulbasaur, Leech Seed!" Ash called.

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur aimed his attack at the Normal-type, but the little projectile went too high and overshot him.

"Rattata, Super Fang!" Rattata's trainer shouted. The small purple mouse charged as his fangs began to glow, coming ready to sink them in his skin.

"Stop it with Vine Whip!" Ash cried back.

It was a desperate move, but Bulbasaur managed to outstretch his vines and wrap them around Rattata's muzzle, forcing it closed before he could bite. Next, he slammed the rat around left and right, before spinning him around and throw him out of the field, where it fell belly up.

"Rattata is unable to battle! Bulbasaur wins!" the referee declared.

The trainer recalled his fallen Rattata and left without sparing a word. Ash approached Bulbasaur to rub on his bulb.

"Well done, Bulbasaur, that makes five victories in a row," he congratulated. Bulbasaur looked up, and Ash suddenly got the impression he was trying to force a smile. "What's the matter?"

Bulbasaur rolled his eyes and shook the bulb as if trying to say something, Ash took a while to realize he meant the failed Leech Seed attack. Just like in the last five battles, despite having won, he always missed the target whenever he fired it, and he felt bad for it.

"Hey, don't feel so bad, we'll keep practicing. Let's go rest for a bit, you've earned a break and a reward for a job well done," said Ash with a beaming smile.

Ash had no idea why, but in the past few days Bulbasaur had been less grumpy and more willing to train with them. That made things easier for him. Also, while he preferred to find his own food, at least now he accepted snacks from the trainer and shared a bit of what he found with the other Pokémon. It seemed like he was getting more accustomed to the group, and that was a good thing.

Ash walked out with Pikachu and Bulbasaur next to him, but when he turned around a corner, something got his attention. It was a trio of boys around his same age who seemed to be in an argument with a smaller kid, who was hugging protectively a small Oddish. Said Pokémon seemed to have taken a beating.

"You said you'd leave us alone if we fought you one last time!" the little kid said.

"You got me wrong," the one who seemed the trio's leader, a pale, blue-eyed blond, replied. The other two, looking much bigger and flanking him, looked like bodyguards. "I said if you fought and _beat_ me, we'd leave you alone. Since you lost, your Oddish now belongs to me. Now hand it over."

"No!" the boy cried out, hugging his Pokémon tightly as the two burly guys tried to grab his arms and force him to drop it.

Ash frowned and immediately decided to act. "Hey you! What do you think you're doing?"

"You keep out of this," the blond boy said. "This is between us."

"Then why bring those two?" Ash said, pointing at the bigger guys. "Plus, what's with taking this boy's Pokémon?"

"The deal was that he had a battle with me. But since he betted his Pokémon, now it's mine," the blond explained.

"We didn't want to fight, but he wouldn't let us go," the boy said, hugging his Oddish more protectively. That caused the Pallet trainer to feel even more incensed.

"Hey, if it's a battle you want, why don't you take a swing at me then?"

"Hah! Why bother?" The blond snapped his fingers. "Get rid of him."

As if they were trained Pokémon, the two burly guys went to grab Ash with open arms. One would think that, being twice his size, the Pallet trainer would feel scared, but he had his fair share of encounters with bullies bigger than him since his school days. Bulbasaur and Pikachu almost reacted, but Ash extended a hand, and turning his hat around gave them a look with a clear message: he wanted to take these two on with his own hands.

So, when the first jumped him, the first thing to do was to dodge aside and get a foot in to trip him over, and when the second followed, he took his hat off and placed it on his head to cover his eyes. While he was disoriented and blinded, Ash kicked him from behind and sent him to fall on top of his friend.

"What are you doing, you idiots?! He's just one kid, get him!" the blond shouted.

Both burly guys stood up and tried to jump on Ash again. The first got behind to grab him by the armpits so the other could hit him, but made the grave mistake of leaving his legs free, which Ash used to kick the one coming ahead, and then stomping on the other's foot so he would let him go. They both stood back up, and seeing he was between them, both charged with a punch. Ash simply ducked, and the result was both of them decking the other in the face, falling to the ground knocked out. That only left the blond kid.

"So? You wanna face me now?" Ash cracked his knuckles.

"D-don't think I'm scared of you!" the blond kid said, stepping back and pulling a Pokéball out. "Get him!"

A bird that Ash knew all too well, with its brown, black and red feathers appeared in front of them. The trainer rolled his eyes; did he really need another reminder of his first day as a trainer? However, he gave Pikachu an aside glance, clearly saying that he knew what he had to do.

The mouse nodded and leapt forward, unleashing a Thundershock on the diving bird, stopping it in midair, and then causing it to slump on the ground giving off sparks.

"Spearow!" the blond boy shouted, returning his Pokémon and running off. "You'll pay for this!"

Ash let out a happy chuckle as he saw him run, while Pikachu placed his arms akimbo doing a satisfied gesture. Bulbasaur glanced at his trainer with interest as he approached the boy with the Oddish.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, thanks." The little kid glanced at his small Grass-type in his hands with worry. "I better take him to the Pokémon Center."

"We'll go with you. Just in case that jerk decides to come back for more trouble," Ash offered, placing a hand on his shoulder, and gesturing his Pokémon to follow him. "Let's go, guys."

Pikachu nodded and they walked behind his trainer, as he escorted the boy back to the Pokémon Center. Bulbasaur, for his part, remained static as he stared at Ash.

First, that naïve and clumsy boy had been working hard to earn his trust, despite his attitude. Then, his Pikachu came and told him how he risked his life on their first day together. And now, he had just seen him defending a kid he didn't even know from a trio of bullies who wanted to take his Pokémon.

Ash was turning out to be someone interesting. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have him as a trainer.

* * *

 _ **Several days later, at the Cerulean Gym…**_

The day had come. A lot of work, effort and training, but at long last he felt ready to take it on. He was determined to win his first Gym Badge, and nothing would stop him.

"Today is the day, Pikachu. We'll get our first Gym Badge no matter what."

"Pikachu!"

He was pleased to see there was no waiting line and could head for the entrance without complications. Taking a deep breath, he went through the automatic crystal doors and headed for the inside, going through a large corridor with crystal walls that made it look like an aquarium, full of Water-type Pokémon all over.

At the end, he got to what looked like the main area. "Hello?"

The Gym's main area was a large pool, with several platforms to stand on. Very similar to that of the Battle Club, but a bit bigger. However, what surprised him the most was the person standing at the other side of the arena.

"Hey there, Ash, good to see you again."

"Misty?" he asked as he recognized the girl. She was dressed in the same bikini top and shorts as when they met, and even sported the same smile. "Wait, you are-"

"The Leader of this Gym?" the redhead completed. "That's right. Though I'm technically just an apprentice, and because my sisters don't want to handle that duty."

"Well, like, you're the only one who totally likes battles here, Misty," a very familiar voice said.

Ash turned around to see three older girls approaching, one of which he recognized as the one selling tickets when he first came to the Gym. Along with her, there were two around the same age, one with blond hair about as long, and the other with dark pink hair falling down her shoulders, but notably shorter.

"Maybe you're not as beautiful as the three of us, but oh, at least you're good at battling," the blonde girl said.

"If you're done making fun of me, does any of you want to referee this battle? I wouldn't like to make our challenger wait more than needed," the redhead said.

The three older sisters huddled amongst each other, argued for a bit, and finally the blonde one decided to stand in the center of the right side of the battlefield, the spot where a referee would usually take for a match, while the other two left. Pulling out a remote control, he aimed it at the large screen on the opposite side, and a scoreboard lit up on it. It showed the faces of Ash and Misty, and under them a pair of squared icons in red and blue respectively.

"Like, alright, I, Daisy, as the referee have to tell you the rules are like this," the blonde said. "It'll be a two-versus-two battle, and only the challenger, like, is allowed to substitute. It's that nice enough for both?"

"Sure." Ash nodded and grabbed his first Pokéball. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!"

"Bulbasaur!" The seed Pokémon materialized on the battlefield, and glared defiantly at the other side.

"Hmm, so a Grass-type? Thought you'd start with your Pikachu, but well." The redhead grabbed a Ball of her own. "Go, my steady! Misty calls Staryu!"

"Hyah!" On the other side of the battlefield, a five-point star Pokémon, brown-colored and with a red, round-shaped gem surrounded by a gold frame in the center. Ash immediately took his Pokédex to scan it.

" **Staryu, the star-shaped Pokémon. The gem in the center of its body glows with she seven colors of the rainbow, making it extremely valuable for certain types of jewelry."**

"Hah, if it's only good for that, we'll have no problems here. Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!"

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur quickly extended his vines towards Staryu, who stood firm where it was without moving, waiting for its trainer's orders.

"Staryu, Rapid Spin!"

"Hyah!" Right before the vines got to it, Staryu made a fast jump, and flipping to a horizontal position It began spinning out fast, arching around like a flying saucer to hit Bulbasaur from the side. The Grass-type retracted his vines and tried to follow the star with his eyes, as it landed on another platform.

"Water Gun!"

"Bulbasaur, hang in there!" Ash called out.

Staryu moved its upper tip forward, and fired a powerful water stream, hitting Bulbasaur right in his face. The Grass-type starter held firm where he was, enduring the water as he held onto the platform with his nails, refusing to back down.

"Use Swift!"

"Counter with Razor Leaf!"

Both Pokémon fired their attacks simultaneously: Staryu launched a rain of luminous stars out of its gem, and Bulbasaur shot out a barrage of razor leaves from under his bulb. Both collided against each other without reaching their targets, while Staryu landed back on another platform.

"Use Vine Whip from above!" Ash called.

Bulbasaur extended the vines again, but this time he curved them upwards forming a couple of arcs to cut Staryu's escape, in case it used Rapid Spin again to get away. Unfortunately for them, that wasn't the only way to dodge.

"Get underwater!" Misty shouted.

"Hyah!"

Staryu instantly dove into the water, causing Bulbasaur to miss and hit the platform. To make it worse, now they had no idea where it would come back out to attack.

"Water-type Pokémon always hold the advantage in water!" Misty declared. "Rapid Spin!"

While Bulbasaur and Ash kept looking around trying to predict where the attack would come from, Staryu emerged brusquely from behind the Grass-type, and charged again with a spinning tackle. This time, being closer, Staryu could hit much harder and almost knocked Bulbasaur off the platform, but he managed to hold on right before touching the water.

"Not bad, Ash, you're handling yourself pretty well," said Misty. "Use Bubblebeam!"

"Hyah!" Staryu leaned forward its upper tip once more, except that instead of firing a water stream, it fired a blast of speeding bubbles, which exploded all over Bulbasaur, forcing him to shut his eyes ant take cover. And much to his surprise, Ash realized that the more they exploded, they left some kind of foam on Bulbasaur's skin, who tried to shake it off.

"Swift!" Misty called to keep pushing it.

Next, another barrage of stars rained over the helpless Bulbasaur, and this time at point-blank range forcing him to step back more and more, until he reached the platform's edge. As soon as she noticed Bulbasaur had a foot out, Misty called for another Rapid Spin to give him the final push into the water.

"Bulbasaur!" Ash cried out.

"Oh, I hope he knows how to swim," Misty said with her hands on her cheek in a faux scared gesture.

Ash clenched his teeth. Deep inside, he hoped that was the case since he never thought about teaching him, but he couldn't say it out loud. Much to his relief, though, Bulbasaur's vines popped out of the water and grabbed hold onto the platforms, pulling him out of the water. Spitting out some water, he glared at Staryu who kept spinning in the air a bit before landing on the other side.

"Oof, that was too close," Ash said. One bright side of falling into the water was that it served to wash the foam from before, but he couldn't get too cocky now.

"Well, I think that solves one problem," Misty replied. "Staryu, keep using Rapid Spin all over!"

"Hyah!"

The star-shaped Pokémon once again floated horizontally and spun out. It arched forward to hit Bulbasaur from the right side, and without losing momentum kept going forward for another hit from behind. It kept doing the same for a while, apparently with the intent of wearing him out and then give the decisive blow.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip while turning around!"

"Bulba! – Bulbasaur extended the vines and brusquely turned around to cover as much area as possible. The attempt worked and one of them hit Staryu in midair interrupting its attack and disorienting it.

"Catch Staryu, quick!"

Bulbasaur didn't miss a beat and extended the vines, wrapping them around Staryu before it could recover from the hit. Seeing he had a few platforms within reach, the Grass-type slammed Staryu against them, one, two, three, four times, causing its gem to start blinking, and Misty's worried expression evidenced that it would soon reach its limit.

"Staryu, use Swift!"

Despite being weakened, Staryu fired the star barrage, hitting Bulbasaur's face with it. Nevertheless, the Grass-type didn't let go, and Ash decided to put to use his ace in the hole. They had been practicing their aim, and they had become good enough to hit a static target at mid-range.

"Bulbasaur, Leech Seed!"

A little brown dot popped out on the Grass-type's bulb, who leaned forward to take aim. Even with Staryu's struggle and the Swift barrage, Bulbasaur fired the seed, hitting right on Staryu's right 'arm'. The seed opened up instantly, producing a bunch of vines to wrap the star all over its body.

"Staryu, no!" Misty shouted.

The vines glowed with green energy, and it transferred to Bulbasaur, while Staryu's core gem began blinking even faster. Still holding it tightly, Ash decided to order Bulbasaur to keep slamming Staryu against the platforms until it didn't struggle anymore.

"Bulbasaur, let's end this using Tackle!" Ash ordered as he pointed forward.

"Bulba… SAUR!"

Brusquely retracting his vines, Bulbasaur jumped at the defenseless Staryu, charging forward against the gem to ram it at full force. The star was sent flying and fell into the water. Seconds later, it floated back to the surface, the gem still blinking until it finally stopped altogether. And thus, the first icon underneath Misty's face on the scoreboard turned off, giving Ash the first point.

"Oh no! Staryu can't fight anymore, like, that means Bulbasaur wins!" Daisy announced.

"Return, Staryu." Misty recalled her star-shaped Pokémon. "Nicely done, now take a well-earned break. Alright, Ash, I admit you've done well. You knew how to take advantage of your Bulbasaur's typing, but soon enough you'll see it takes more than that to earn a badge in this Gym."

"Hah, we'll see about that." Ash crossed his arms with confidence, before glancing at Pikachu. "Sorry buddy, looks like you won't have to fight after all."

"Oh, don't go counting your Pidgey before they hatch," the redhead said as she grabbed her second Pokéball. "For the second round, Misty calls Starmie!"

"Hah!" Misty's second Pokémon was another star, but very different from the previous one. For starters, it was bigger, purple, and had ten appendages instead of five, and the gem in the center looked more like a cut-out gem. Like before, Ash grabbed his Pokédex to scan it.

" **Starmie, Staryu's evolved form. The geometric shape of its body has led to suspicions that this Pokémon could be alien in origin."**

"Alien? Bah, that doesn't matter. We'll beat it just like the other. Ready, Bulbasaur? Razor Leaf!"

"Bulba!" The Grass-type nodded, and fired a barrage of sharp leaves at the purple star. Said star remained static, but Misty's smirk made it clear she knew what she was doing.

"Light Screen."

"Hah!" Instantly, the gem in Starmie's center glowed, and a translucent energy wall arose before it. Most of the Razor Leaves bounced off of it while the few that made it through were reduced to smaller, harmless bits, which barely tickled Starmie.

"What's going on?" Ash asked, not understanding why the attack was so ineffective.

"Light Screen reduces damage by special attacks," the redhead explained with satisfaction. "No matter how effective they are against Water-types, the damage will be halved."

"Special attacks, huh? In that case let's go for a physical one. Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!"

"Dodge!"

Despite not moving as fast as her unevolved counterpart, Starmie was able to dodge Bulbasaur's vines without much difficulty, jumping and spinning until it landed on another platform. Bulbasaur didn't let himself get fooled and followed, but Starmie jumped again and landed on the other side, repeating the process over and over until he finally got tired and retracted his vines.

"Water Pulse!" Misty called out next.

Starmie generated in front of its gem a large water sphere, firing it at Bulbasaur. The Grass-type managed to lean to the left and dodged it, but it wasn't the only one: Starmie threw a second, a third, and then managed to hit with the fourth. The sphere expanded into a large bubble that trapped Bulbasaur and then burst with a huge splash. Bulbasaur fell with a thump on the platform and shook the water off his body, glaring at Starmie with a clear vein popping in his temple in anger.

"Use Vine Whip to catch Starmie, then Tackle!"

Once more, Bulbasaur extended the vines, this time arching them outwards to cover more area. That way, when Starmie dodged the first strike, the second came from above and managed to catch it. Immediately, once he got one of the whips wrapped around Starmie, Bulbasaur didn't miss a beat to wrap the second to restrict more. He then retracted the whips to sling himself at Starmie, landing a solid blow on the gem.

"Quick, get into the water!" Misty shouted.

Starmie dove into the pool, and once again Ash and Bulbasaur had to stay alert, trying to predict where the attack would come from. That put them at a great disadvantage since they couldn't attack while Starmie was underwater, but it couldn't stay submerged forever. It'd have to come back out sooner or later to attack them, and that was their opening.

"Water Pulse!" Misty called. Instantly, Starmie emerged spinning behind Bulbasaur, ready to fire again the water sphere.

"Razor Leaf barrage!" Ash countered.

"Bulbasaur!" This time, instead of firing a couple of leaves, Bulbasaur fired a continuous barrage.

The Water Pulse collided against the leaves, exploding in a large splash, but Bulbasaur continued his attack at Starmie. The Light Screen raised again to reduce damage, but Bulbasaur kept attacking, trying to put a bit more oomph into it.

Misty seemingly got fed up of the leaf assault after a while. "Icy Wind!"

Starmie's gem took a white-bluish glow, similar to ice, and appropriately enough, a cold wind came out of it. It was a tad weak at first, but it slowly raised its power until Bulbasaur's leaves started falling frozen over, until he finally ceased. Next, he tried to catch Starmie with Vine Whip again, but they didn't fall for the same trick twice and quickly dove into the water for another surprise attack.

"Turn around and use Leech Seed!" Ash called.

Bulbasaur turned around and foreseeing that Starmie would attack him from behind, kept the seed in the ready and fired it as soon as Starmie came back out.

Unfortunately, the star emerged much closer than expected, and rather than jumping above him, landed in front of him. The seed missed altogether, wasting the chance and leaving Bulbasaur in shock due to the gem's closeness.

"Icy Wind!"

At point-blank range, Starmie blew the attack in the Grass-type's face, who was forced to turn away and close his eyes trying to take cover. Starmie jumped backwards and took position for another attack.

"Water Pulse!" Misty shouted.

Starmie fired the water ball, hitting Bulbasaur right in his face. The Grass Pokémon tried to dodge, but he slipped due to the icy layer in his face and forelegs, and when it splashed all over, Ash realized something else.

"Bulbasaur?" he called out.

"Bulba…" Suddenly, the seed Pokémon's eyes lost their focus, and he moved his head around, disoriented. Misty called for Starmie to keep attacking with the water spheres, and then freeze the water above with Icy Wind to make his movements even harder.

"Bulbasaur, get a hold of yourself! Use Vine Whip!"

Bulbasaur seemingly heard Ash's voice, as he extended his vines, but instead of trying to trap Starmie, he started waving them around randomly, to the point he even hit himself with them, caused by the Water Pulse-induced confusion. At the same time, while he was disoriented, Starmie continued to blow Icy Winds all over to immobilize him more, until he was left with two of his limbs stuck on the platform's frozen floor.

By a miracle, a hit from one of his vines snapped him out of his confusion, but it was too late to save himself from the incoming wave of Icy Winds the purple star kept blowing at him. In a fit of desperation, he extended his vines one more time to try and get hold of Starmie and succeeded, retracting them to sling himself for a Tackle, but Misty foresaw it and immediately countered.

"Spin out and throw him away!"

"Hah!" Starmie spun in the air before Bulbasaur could hit, and sent him to crash against one of the platforms. And then another, and another, to throw him back into the water forcing him to let go, once he couldn't keep the grip anymore.

A few seconds passed, and Bulbasaur came back floating belly up, his mouth wide open and his eyes blank. Just the slight groan he let out and the fact his stomach kept going up and down made it clear he was still alive, so Ash wasn't otherwise worried about him. However, the result was clear.

"And Bulbasaur's out so, like, Starmie wins!" Misty's sister declared, and Bulbasaur's icon on the scoreboard turned off.

"Return, Bulbasaur," Ash said as he recalled his Grass-type. "Well done, now take a rest."

The trainer glanced at his opponent once more. This time she said nothing, instead just keeping her confident smirk. Her expression was a mixture of "You're doing pretty well" and "Come on, try and impress me". Alright, his choice now was fairly obvious, but with luck, it should be enough to win.

"It's up to us now. Pikachu, I choose you!"

"Pikapika!" The electric mouse jumped to the battlefield, and the empty icon on Ash's side illuminated with his face. The final round had begun.

"Let's see if you learned something from our last encounter. Starmie, Water Pulse!"

"Pikachu, Thundershock!"

Pikachu sent out an electric discharge to intercept the water sphere. The impact dissipated it, and the splash helped it travel faster through the air towards Starmie, who was unable to dodge. Despite the fact the Light Screen was still active to somewhat mitigate the effect, evidently the attack did more damage than Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf.

"Well, that wasn't too bad." Misty arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Recover!"

Instantly, Starmie began to glow, and the burns from the electric attack started to disappear, just like the cuts it suffered before from Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf attack. Also, the cracks in the gem from the last blow slowly began to regenerate. A few seconds later, Starmie looked good as new.

"Oh, you have to be kidding me," Ash said, grabbing his forehead.

"You weren't expecting us to make this easy, were you?" the redhead asked. "Icy Wind!"

Starmie's gem glowed white again to fire the icy current. Ash and Pikachu exchanged glances, and they instantly knew what to do about it.

"Agility, then Quick Attack!"

"Pi! Pi! Pi!"

Before the Icy Wind could get to them, Pikachu sidestepped quickly, vanishing for a second into a yellow blur, reappearing in another platform. Starmie tried to turn around to keep attacking, but when it did, Pikachu had already moved to another platform and missed. The mouse repeated the action until he got behind the star, moment when he rushed leaving a white streak behind for a speedy tackle.

"Starmie!" Misty shouted.

"Awesome, now hold onto Starmie!" Ash called.

"Pika!" As soon as he landed behind Starmie, the rodent jumped quickly, clinging with teeth and nails to one of the star's tips. Starmie violently tried to shake him off, but he didn't let go.

"Thundershock!" Ash called again.

Despite the Light Screen activating again, doing the attack at point-blank range greatly weakened the damage reduction. Pikachu kept the electric attack for as long as possible until he ran out of charge in his sacs, and then Starmie resumed trying to shake him off.

"Starmie, get into the water!" Misty shouted.

Still with Pikachu clinging to it and unable to damage him with its attacks, Starmie submerged again. It was a risky gamble: an electric attack inside the water could be fatal for them, but on the other hand, Pikachu couldn't breathe underwater. If he had run out of charge for a bit they could have a moment's rest.

Shortly after, Pikachu came back to the surface, having been forced to let go of Starmie to get some air.

"Pikachu, use Thundershock!" Ash shouted, taking advantage of his partner still being in the water.

"Starmie, get out fast!"

Pikachu didn't manage to build up enough power in his electric sacs before Starmie left the water, but the lightning show he caused was such, both trainers and referee had to take cover to avoid getting hit and electrocuted.

"Hey, watch it!" Misty protested.

"Sorry!" Ash replied.

That said, Misty had to admit to herself she was impressed at the power display. An average Pikachu was not able to generate that amount of electricity, let alone a rookie. They could lose if they weren't careful.

"Recover!" the redhead called, taking advantage of Pikachu having to swim back to one of the platforms once he ceased the attack.

Ash bit his lower lip, seeing how Starmie vanished all the damage they had racked up before. The only bright side was that right then, the Light Screen materialized to break apart, signaling its effect had ended. But they would probably try and set it up again to resist electric attacks and then use Recover again. They were going for an endurance battle to outlast Pikachu.

The Pallet Town boy tried to smack himself on the forehead a few times. Thinking was not his forte, he admitted that much; he was more someone to act first and think second. Maybe they could use the Agility and Quick Attack tactic, keep giving physical blows until something happened.

"Pikachu, use Agility and keep hitting Starmie with Quick Attack!"

"Pika! Pi, pi, pi, pi!"

And once again, at an even greater speed, Pikachu started skipping from one platform to another, surrounding Starmie to get into striking distance on the star's blind spots. The star remained on alert, trying to dodge the tackles, but Pikachu's attacks were increasingly fast, thus it became harder by the second. Ash cheered on his partner to keep and even pick up the pace. To his credit, he had learned to move quite well on the battlefield, so he'd congratulate him regardless of the result.

' _What's he doing, is he hoping for some kind of miracle?'_ Misty wondered, glancing at how the trainer kept his sight on the electric mouse as he continued to run and jump around.

As if answering her question, Pikachu charged at Starmie from behind. While the impact did nothing but shake the purple star a little, yellow sparks appeared on Pikachu's fur as soon as he made contact, and a second later the same sparks appeared in his opponent, who landed on one of the platforms with a seizure.

"Starmie!" the leader shouted in worry.

"What was that?" Ash asked, pointing his Pokédex at the battlefield.

" **Pikachu's special ability: Static. By making contact with the foe there's a chance to inflict paralysis on it. This ability can even affect Ground-type Pokémon."**

"Cool, I had no idea of that," Ash said, closing the device. It would have been useful if it had triggered back at the Pewter Gym, but that wasn't the case.

"Don't think you're going to beat us just for a lucky blow," Misty said. "Starmie, fire Water Pulse!"

"Pikachu, Thundershock!"

Despite the paralysis, Starmie managed to fire three water spheres in quick succession, which Pikachu had to dodge jumping and rolling before getting in position for the electric attack, as close as he could to maximize damage. The attack hit its target, and Starmie fell on the center platform, though it quickly got back up.

"Recover!" Misty shouted.

"Pikachu, use Thundershock at full power! Give them everything you've got!"

Ash's intention was to rack up the damage on Starmie now the Light Screen was off, before it could raise it again. And if it used Recover, the key was to attack with enough force so it couldn't regenerate the damage.

"Come on, buddy, you can do this! I believe in you!"

Pikachu made an effort to send every ounce of electricity he had, and then some. He was reaching his limit, but he couldn't stop now. Not when they were so close to the win. Bulbasaur's effort during the fight, and Ash's own effort for preparing them, it would all be for naught.

No, he couldn't fail them. He just couldn't. He needed more power…

"Pika… CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Suddenly, the electric rodent felt as if a generator suddenly powered on inside him, a power surge filled him and increased the electric flow. That didn't seem like an ordinary Thundershock anymore: it was a more powerful discharge.

And it did its job on Starmie, who began to flinch even more as it received the attack.

"Starmie, get out of there!" Misty called.

Starmie managed to get out of the attack's way with difficulty, but the damage was done. Having taken the full brunt of it caused more damage than expected, and using Recover didn't help heal fast enough. Now the electric burns were more evident.

Ash in the meantime, aimed again with his Pokédex. **"Thunderbolt, advanced version of Thundershock. It fires a 100,000-volt discharge, capable of paralyzing the opponent as additional effect."**

"So that means we've improved Thundershock? Cool, Pikachu, let's use it! Thunderbolt, again!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

"Starmie, dodge!" Misty shouted.

Starmie tried to jump out of the way, but unfortunately, the paralysis kicked in and prevented it from moving. The star couldn't make any faces, but Ash imagined it would feel a terror similar to the one drawn in Misty's face as the lightning bolt flew from Pikachu until it made contact.

The damage was massive and unstoppable, and after an explosion of sparks all over the place that prevented them from seeing what happened, the sight was clear.

Starmie laid on the platform giving sparks, but its center jewel was blinking until it dimmed down again. That said it all: with that last attack they had scored an electrifying victory.

"Starmie is out, and Pikachu wins! So that, like, means that Ash is the winner, congrats!"

"We did it… we did it! WE WON!" Ash started jumping up and down in joy, almost giving a false step and falling nose first into the water. But just as soon as he regained his balance, he jumped over the closest platform, and then to the next to hug Pikachu. "We did it, buddy, well done!"

Misty sighed with resignation, recalling Starmie as the scoreboard turned the icon down and showed Ash as the match's winner. Some would've said it was a lucky blow thanks to Pikachu's ability, or him learning that stronger attack at the right time, but the truth was they had beaten her fair and square.

As she saw the black-haired boy celebrating his victory like a kid with a new toy, something inside her made her smile. It was like there was something special in him, she could feel it.

…

Once he was done celebrating, both Gym Leader and challenger met each other face to face by the pool's edge, while Misty's blonde sister brought a white, marine lion Pokémon, a Seel, who clapped before revealing in its tongue a small badge, shaped like a blue water drop. Misty grabbed it to present it to Ash.

"Alright, Ash Ketchum, as the Cerulean Gym Leader, I'm honored to give you the Cascade Badge, proof of your victory against me. Congratulations!" she said as she placed it in his hand.

The trainer grabbed it, and instantly raised it over his head in a victory pose. "Yeah! We got the Cascade Badge!"

"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu added, making a V-sign with his fingers.

"Tough luck, little sis, like, it's your first defeat," the blonde said.

"So?" The redhead shrugged. "There's no shame in losing to him. Granted, he's still a rookie, but he moved pretty fast from what I tried to teach him a few days ago. He's got potential."

"I still don't get why you tried to help me at the Battle Club," Ash said. "If you hadn't done that, maybe I wouldn't have beaten you."

"Well, I took the position recently, and to be honest, the challengers have been rather boring," Misty said. "You're the first who actually gave me some fun during the battle, so thanks for that."

Ash wasn't sure about what to say to that, so he just smiled, extending his hand for a friendly shake. The girl accepted it, though the girl managed to spot she had a rather tight grip, especially for a female.

"I hope you make it to the Indigo League. Keep up that pace with the Gyms, and don't disappoint me," she said.

"I will," the trainer assured with a smile.

The challenge concluded, the boy took his leave, admiring his first badge. He felt rather satisfied with it, though part of him wondered if he could have made it without Misty's 'help'. Maybe he should follow her advice, and prepare better for the other gyms ahead. So as to avoid a repeat of Pewter.

Nevertheless, for now he only had one destination in mind: the Pokémon Center. Bulbasaur and Pikachu deserved some rest for their efforts, and after that, a nice reward for a job well done.

…

That night, at the bedroom, Bulbasaur left his Pokéball again. Just like the last time, Ash didn't wake up, but Pikachu did. However, unlike the last time, the Grass-type didn't go towards the window. He no longer had the intent to escape.

" _[What's up?]"_ the electric mouse asked. " _[Can't sleep?]"_

" _[I've been asleep the whole day, since they brought me after that battle],"_ Bulbasaur said. " _[That was really hard.]"_

" _[You said it]."_ Pikachu nodded. – " _[But you have to admit it was fun, ¿wasn't it?]"_

" _[Bah… yeah, I guess I was wrong with him. He's a bit loud and stupid, but… he's not as bad as I thought],"_ headmitted. " _[But he'll have a long way to go to fully earn my trust]."_

" _[Well, he managed to put up with you longer than any of your previous trainers, didn't he? That has to count for something],"_ the rodent said as he placed his hands akimbo. " _[By the way, things would have gone easier for me if you hadn't missed your last Leech Seed. You need to practice your aim]."_

" _[Hey, at least I didn't miss the first, did I?"_ Bulbasaur defended himself. " _[And if that thing hadn't attacked me from up close, I would have hit it]."_

" _[Yeah, tell yourself that]"._ Pikachu gave a smug smirk, but then softened his expression and extended his hand. " _[In any case, I'm looking forward to keep training with you]."_

" _[Same here],"_ Bulbasaur replied. As he technically didn't have hands, he extended one of his vines so Pikachu could take it and give him the closest thing to a handshake.

It had been a good first Gym Victory, and hopefully it'd be the first of many coming ahead. They still had many adventures to live alongside Ash Ketchum, and they'd be looking forward to see what the future had in store for them.

 **FIN.**

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

Hey, hey, how's it going? For a change, here's something outside the Resetverse. In case it's not clear enough, this is my take on how could Ash and Misty's first encounter have gone in the 20th Anniversary movie. Just get the idea that things are like this: Ash caught Pidgeotto more or less the same as in the anime, and as mentioned before, he lost at the Pewter Gym against Brock, so he decided to win his first badge somewhere else, thus arriving at Cerulean. After that, he'd go through Vermillion and then Celadon, if we follow the in-game route, to fit with the movie's events.

I took some ideas from several sources to build this story up: for starters, Ash and Misty's first meeting at the Battle Club is based on Red and Brock's in _Pokémon: Origins,_ and the 'test' from the beginning is a reference to the _Electric Tale of Pikachu_ manga, the way the gym battle happened. The way Ash catches Bulbasaur, it's a nod to the way you obtain him in Pokémon Yellow, though I had some difficulty to decide how to make that part (I struggled deciding whether I should put Melanie or not, but in the end I didn't know how to fit her). Lastly, the scenes between Bulbasaur and Pikachu with translated dialogue, think of it like the Island of the Giant Pokémon. Pity we didn't get to see more episodes like that; those scenes help in showcasing more the Pokémon's personalities.

Well, I have nothing left to say. If you liked it, please let me know, and maybe I'll decide to do something else like this in the future. See ya next time!


End file.
